We are a small company created by a group of people who thought there had to be a better way to learn languages. Almost from the very beginning we realized that most language learning methods don't work for a few reasons. They lack common sense. They're obsessed with either small grammar issues or use gimmicks to avoid grammar altogether. And like most e-learning, they're incredibly boring.

Fluenz is driven by our love of languages, and is inspired by an ongoing revolution in the delivery of digital content. We see ourselves within the artisan tradition, which means we pay attention to details, we have a real dialogue with our users, we worry about craftsmanship, and we have the time to learn about learning. We're small enough not to worry about bureaucracies, or what analysts will think of our quarterly earnings, and instead choose to focus entirely on continuously improving our own products every single day.  

Boutique is a word we like. We work in teams, have no titles, and sometimes people join us on a short-term basis to contribute to specific projects. Our company is Miami Beach-based, although much of the work takes place in different locations. We have production offices in Latin America and in Spain. And many experts and friends throughout the world contribute their talents in a variety of ways. Although it wasn't planned that way, it turns out that two thirds of our work happens within walking distance of an ocean, and almost all of it within a thirty minute drive. 

We know that simple, common sense solutions can make an enormous difference when they're built from the point of view of learners. We know that a language is the result of millions of people talking and writing to each other over hundreds, sometimes thousands of years. We know that new technologies can create magic, or just add clutter to our lives. Which means that when we use common sense to focus on the learner in order to convey both the emotion and the rules of every language, and we manage to do it by lighting up some magic with whatever technology we're using, then we know we're heading in the right direction.

There is a model of learning that has stood the test of time for thousands of years: one-on-one coaching involving constant interaction between student and tutor, taking place anywhere, and organized in such a way as to create the most memorable learning environment. One thinks of Socrates walking around, prodding and questioning in a process so engaging that it still resonates throughout the world more than two thousand years later.

While up until the last century this model was rightly considered utopian because it could not be reproduced on a large scale, the promise of digital education has yet to deliver anything resembling the magic of Socratic learning. Instead, online learning enterprises have replaced overcrowded halls with soulless chat rooms, overworked lecturers with cookie-cutter PDFs, and the promise of learning with the advantages of ever improving customer to revenue ratios. At best, aimless PowerPoint-like platforms supplemented by robotic online tutors seek to provide a rewarding learning experience.

It isn't difficult to see why serious learners have lost their faith in whatever it was the intersection of technology and education was supposed to bring about.  As avid adopters of learning software and online learning solutions of all kinds, we've had our share of disappointments while trying to use repetitive software systems that lack direction, multi-media programs that fail to exploit the potential of rich media, and robotic, web-based systems that afford no flexibility and offer little if any memorable, engaging content.  

Which is why our efforts at Fluenz are dedicated to starting the conversation between learning and technology all over again. For us the point of departure is straight forward: the oldest learning model continues to be the most memorable one. From that simple realization grows our long-term objective: to perfect a seamless digital reproduction of one-on-one, interactive tutoring that challenges, leads, inspires, and leaves a life-time impression on the learner. Our current products are far from perfect and far from our own ideal, but we are determined to keep pushing the envelope. 

One more thing. While engaging, beautiful design is often dismissed as irrelevant in education, we beg to differ.